Carleton man pleads in wife’s death

Wednesday

Jan 11, 2017 at 12:00 PM

Robert G. Shelton, 67, of Carleton pleaded no contest to a charge of vulnerable adult abuse, second-degree, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. In exchange for the plea, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the original charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Ray Kisonas Monroe News staff reporter RayKisonas

The husband of a woman who died of complications from a maggot-filled abscess on her abdomen has entered a plea in court to a lesser criminal charge.

Robert G. Shelton, 67, of Carleton pleaded no contest to a charge of vulnerable adult abuse, second-degree, which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison. In exchange for the plea, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the original charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Mr. Shelton is scheduled to be sentenced March 23 by 38th Circuit Judge Michael A. Weipert. Sentencing guidelines, which have yet to be completed, will assist the judge to determine if Mr. Shelton is to serve time in prison and for how long.

Mr. Shelton’s wife, Debra Mae, died in June, 2015, eight days after he brought her unconscious to the hospital. Mrs. Shelton, 61, was obese and suffered from several ailments, including an abscess on her abdomen that doctors discovered was filled with live maggots.

According to court testimony, she was diabetic and her sugar levels were extremely high. She eventually died due to complications involving the diabetes and severe infection. A medical examiner determined Mrs. Shelton’s death was caused by gross neglect and ruled the manner of death a homicide.

The Michigan State Police of the Monroe post had conducted an investigation and the prosecutor’s office charged Mr. Shelton with involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

It was alleged that Mr. Shelton failed to properly care for his wife, but his friends claimed that he did everything he could and did not deserve to be charged criminally because he did not intend to harm his wife of 36 years. The couple had two grown sons who reportedly have not been involved.

Mr. Shelton is free on bond and had undergone a psychiatric examination that determined he had no history of mental illness or substance abuse; was aware of the court proceedings, was not overly depressed or anxious and was cooperative with all aspects of the evaluation.